Old Friends, New Flames
by EllaMuffin
Summary: After a devastating breakup with Amy, along with finding a new love, Ephram discovers disturbing secrects.
1. Sightings

Ephram was mad. He stormed through his front door and up to his room, stamping each foot on each step as he went.

She broke-up with me... he thought. I can't believe my dad told her– I can't believe it! He was too mad for words... I'll show her, he thought ,I don't need her and I certainly don't need a father who is a back-stabbing jerk!

That was an understatement of how he felt, but he didn't want to over-do it... when he gets mad, he gets MAD! He started to unbutton his shirt. He took off the T-Shirt he had on underneath and finished getting undressed. He jumped into the shower and let the water clean is body as well as his mind. He got out and put on his 'lounging' clothes– an old ratty sweat-shirt and a pair of old boxers... he was going to stay in his room for the rest of the day.

He hated the world. As he walked by his window, he saw her. He followed with her with his eyes as she sat down on a couch that was placed in the front yard of a house across the street. He threw on a pair of pants and put on a nice t-shirt in place of his sweats. He ran down the stairs and out the door. He pretended to be getting the mail– it was Sunday, which means no mail, but he didn't think they noticed him anyway.

She threw her head back at something a boy she was sitting next to her must have said that was funny. She was gorgeous– blonde haired and blue-eyed. He had short brown hair– that was more than Ephram cared about– he wanted to know more about the blonde girl. The boy was cuddling a girl who also looked relatively the same age as him– maybe a little older. She was pretty too– she had long, jet-black hair that was swept into a messy bun held in place by chopsticks and streaked an un-natural shade of red. He had to find out more about these people... especially the blonde.

Sorry it was so short... and weird-sounding; I'll write more about the break-up later... but I can tell you, it was AMY'S FAULT!


	2. Second Encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Everwood characters, they are the property of Greg Berlanti. I own the original characters.

Peanut butter, bread, milk, chicken nuggets, frozen peas.... Ephram....... read the list of things his father had asked him to pick up at the grocery store. He was still pissed at his father, but he needed these things too. He took a shopping cart and headed down the produce aisle of the Everwood General Store. As he carelessly pushed the groceries into his cart he saw her. HER. The blonde girl. Her name was Brittany. He knew her name from the tag she had on her apron she was a stock-girl at the market. He just had to talk to her. He walked up to her. He throat was as dry as hell and felt like someone shoved a piece of sandpaper down it; much like it did when he first met Amy... NO! He mentally yelled at himself, Don' t think about her! He started to say "Excuse me," but got cut-off by a big, burly man who said "Tiffany!"

"My name is Brittany, Hank! I told you a thousand times! What do you need?

" The register's receipt-tape won't come out!"

"Coming !" She yelled at the man.

She turned around to Ephram and said One second,I'll be right back." She winked and followed Hank behind the counter.

Ephram wanted to faint! She walked back about a minute later.

"Sorry, handsome." She said to Ephram."What were you saying?"

"Uh, um... durh, uh... dah... um...." He was babbling."

You're cute!" She said after she giggled.

"She thinks I' m cute!" He thought to himself. Then he did something so un-Ephram-like, he turned around to see if someone elsewas there and had said it.

"Would you like to go out with me on Friday?" He asked her.

She looked stricken "Wow. I mean sure! Do you mind if I bring my friends? The ones that were on the couch with me yesterday? We sort of had plans, but now this can be like a double date!"

She had seen him! He could feel his cheeks burning."I wasn't spying if that's what you think... I just had to get the mail...."

"On a Sunday?"

"Yeah. We have a special postal carrier. He's not too bright. He always forgets the mail on Saturday, so he brings it on Sunday." What a STUPID lie, he thought. She giggled again.

"Whatever you say, Ephram." How does she know my name?, he thought.

"I stopped by the doctors office yesterday because of my migraines. " she said "and I met your father. He showed me pictures of his kids and told me all about them- about you ."

"Is that so? Hmmm... what's your number? This way I can call you to work our the details about Friday."

"You certainly don't waste time!"

"Well...." She took his hand and scribbled a number on it. She kissed him on the cheek and said "I can't wait, handsome..." as she walked off to help Hank again. He didn' t know what to think of her. For one thing, shedoesn't waste any time, he thought!


	3. Realizations

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Everwood characters, they are the property of Greg Berlanti. I own the original characters.

His fingers were so slippery with sweat, he couldn't even dial the phone– he had to dial it 7 times before he punched in the right number. It was ringing. 1 time. 2 times. 3 times. 4 ti–

"Hello?", a grungy voice answered.

"Uh... um... aba... uh... un..." was what Ephram answered.

"Hello?" The voice said even louder.

"Uh, uh, is, uh, Brittany there?" he finally asked through incessant babbling.

"Hold on. Who is this?"

"It's Ephram. Ephram Brown."

"Oh, listen, I know your type–" he was cut off. "Daddy!" an annoyed voice answered in the background, "Please give me the phone before you embarrass me."

"Ok, Brittany, sorry Pudding."

"It's okay, Daddy." he heard; this time, nice.

"Hello?" a relieved Brittany answered.

"Hey, Brittany, it's Ephram."

"Oh! Hey!" he heard another voice in the background "Hank! I told you not to let that slut talk to any boys! She just got over that Jimmy kid and I don't want her getting knocked-up again!"

"Mother!" Brittany's, now sharp and aggravated, voice said, "Please stop it!"

"I guess you're going to be going out on a date with him, huh?" now Ephram noticed the voice was slurred and shaky.

"Hold on." Brittany's voice told him.

"Oh, okay, yeah, sure." and he hung up. He couldn't take it. He just couldn't-- he'd go talk to Sara and Dan later. Her mom was a drunk, her dad was her boss at the market, and she was obviously a normal girl living with a messed-up family.

(Sorry it took so long for another chapter; I've been really busy with the school paper and work and stuff. Hope you liked it! Review! Thanks for the last review, Cameron123!).


	4. Coming To Conclusions

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Everwood characters, they are the property of Greg Berlanti. I own the original characters.

123... 125... 127... 129 Daffoil Avenue– it was Sara's house. He walked up the path... it was nice– nice flowers... nice green grass... nice colored pathway stone– WAIT– what was he DOING? He was looking at yard gnomes and almost bumped into her mailbox he was so wrapped-up in his own world– he was at the door... 1 knock... No answer. 1 knock again... No answer... 3rd knock... No answer. He was just about to turn around and try to find Dan's house when he heard the door squeak open.

"Heyyo?" said a little voice.

"Huh?" Ephram spun around, "Oh, hi..." he said softly when he realized a six year old answered the door.

"Who are you? Are you a STRANGER?" she asked frantically.

"No, no... um, my name is Ephram and I'm looking for–"

"My name is Teresa." the girl said.

"Well, hello, Teresa. I'm pleased to meet you," he said as he stooped to be eye-level with the girl.

"My friends call me Terry."

"Well, can I call you Terry, Teresa?"

"Are you a stranger?" she asked again.

"No, I'm Ephram."

"OK... as long as your not a stranger because I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."

"Is your sister home?"

"No. She's out with Dan."

"No, I'm not; Terry–? she got cut off.

"O.K.– then she's at the Animal Shelter."

"Teresa, I'm right here! Who's at the door?" Ephram heard a chair squeak against the floor from another room.

"A stranger." she replied plainly.

"No, I'm Ephram. I'm friends with Brittany."

"Oh, so you're her infamous stalker..." she said with a smirk as she walked into the room.

"Yeah..." he replied embarrassed.

"Come on in." she said as she waved him in and bent down and told Teresa to get her Barbie's out so they could play later.

"You enjoy playing with plastic?" he asked jokingly.

"Nah– it's just to keep her occupied."

"So what's up?"

"Well, you see–" he started to respond, but for about the 20th time that day, he got cut off.

"Hey, who's this?" obviously, the guy who MUST be Dan, asked.

"I'm Ephram and I'm NOT a stranger, haha." Dan and Sara must not have got his joke because they looked confused. "Anyway," he continued, "I, uh... well, I was on the phone with Brittany today, and I, uh.. Heard some things..." his voice trailed off because by the look on the faces of Sara and Dan, this wasn't anything new and surprising to them.

"Dan, get your coat and tell my Mom we're going out for a bit."

"What?" Ephram asked.

"What do you mean, 'what'?– we're going out for a talk."

"Grab your coat too, sweetheart." Dan told Sara as he walked by and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"I know, honey." she said.

"Let's go!" Dan said. Ephram followed them as Sara unlocked her gate and walked into the backyard. More gnomes. As Sara began to say, "Ephram, listen..." he knew he had bigger problems then being obsessed with his neighbors' landscaping.


	5. All The Facts

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Everwood characters, they are the property of Greg Berlanti. I own the original characters.

"Take a seat." Sara continued. Ephram took a seat on a lawn chair as Sara and Dan settled into a chaise lounge.

"Listen Ephram," she began again, "there are a few things you should know about Brittany..."

"Mostly, BAD." Dan cut in.

"It's not ALL bad, Ephram," Sara said to try and comfort him.

"But most of it IS." Dan replied. Ephram felt like he was at a ping-pong match– his head was going back and forth as each of them said something.

"Ephram." Sara said shortly, "Brittany's family has problems– big ones– BAD ones."

"What KIND of problems?" he asked.

"Well," she started, before she shifted her position, "Britt's Mom has a problem. She's a drunk. A mean one. It all started after Brittany broke-up with this Ivy-league jerk, Jim– her mom loved him– he was sweet, handsome, smart, not critical, funny, charming, truthful, and most of all, loved her daughter. Well, Jim wasn't all he seemed to be. He was abusive and started drinking too. Then he turned. He was obnoxious, nasty, and demanding. He started abusing Britt and demanding she have sex with him. She refused, and he beat her. She couldn't take it anymore so she broke-up with him. Her mom was devastated and accused Brittany of lying because she found a new 'boy toy'".

"But I heard her Mom say on the phone how she 'got knocked-up by Jimmy'."

"I'm getting to that." Sara said.

"Well," the story continued, this time, by Dan. "Brittany decided that the only way to get her Mom off her back was to say that she was pregnant and that Jim wanted nothing to do with the kid. Her Mom was mad and upset and surprised. She hated him for doing that and so she started drinking. Since Brittany wasn't pregnant, she couldn't just forget about it because her belly wouldn't be growing. She said she wanted an abortion. She got the pills and just threw them out everyday to make it look like she was taking them."

"Wow," Ephram said. "That explains a lot."

"Yeah," Sara said as she looked into Dan's eyes as her own started to water, "It does..." Dan pulled her close and started to cry too.

"It'll be okay, baby, don't worry." he sad consolingly. It was then that Ephram wished he had someone to hug him then.


	6. Old Friend

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Everwood characters, they are the property of Greg Berlanti. I own the original characters.

As Ephram walked home after his meeting with Sara and Dan, he wondered if he was getting in over his head. Was this girl too much? Was she too messed-up? How much was _too_ much?

Ephram was so into his thoughts, he nearly got run over. He was walking across the street, looking down, when he heard a screech. The screech came from someone's tires. He looked up, jolted from his deep state of uncertainty, when who was behind the wheel other than Amy. He stood there, stunned, mouth agape, when she got out of her car in the middle of the road and walked right up to Ephram.

"Hey." She said.

"Uh... hey," Ephram responded, "You enjoy breaking my bones almost as much as breaking my heart?" he asked, astonished by his own bluntness.

"Well, uh... I... you know what I had better go, Mom needs me to drive her to the doctor for her chemo today, you know how it is."

"Uh, yeah?"

"Well, uh.. I'll see you?"

"Yeah... uh, Amy?"

"What, Ephram?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really, why?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go out for, like, dinner or something after you take you Mom to her appointment."

"I really shouldn't. I promised I would help Hannah get ready for her date with Bright. They're getting pretty serious, you know."

"Ok." was all Ephram said as he walked quickly to his front door, leaving Amy in the middle of the street, stunned.


	7. All My Love

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Everwood characters, they are the property of Greg Berlanti. I own the original characters.

As Ephram get ready for his date, he contemplated his encounter with Amy. Why did he ask her out when he had Brittany? Why did he doubt his attraction towards her? Why was he so worried about her family when it was her that he liked? He took of his shirt, then he unbuttoned his pants. He walked into his bathroom, turned on the water, and then shed his boxers. As he stepped into the cold water, he let it wash over him. He scrubbed his hair once and washed his body twice, then a third. He got out then wrapped a towel around his middle. He dried his hair then walked out, with only the towel covering him. He went over to his closet and pulled out a brown button-down with thin light blue, lavender, white and yellow stripes. As he pulled out a pair of low-rise, loose-fitting dark blue jeans and a belt, he thought more about Brittany. His phone rang as he thumped down the stairs– he ran back up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Eph-Eph-Ephram-m-m?"

"Yeah, Sara?"

"D-D-D-an's-s b-b-been in a ter-te-terr-terrible accid-d-d-de-dent.", she was sobbing so hard he could hear her take sharp breaths and nearly hyperventilate.

"Oh, my God! What happened? Is he alright?"

"He g-g-got int-t-t-o a c-c-rash. They don't k-kn-kn-know for sure... th-the-th-they say it's r-re-rea-r-real bad, though."

"I'll be right over!"

"N-n-n-no! Brittany is l-l-lo-looking foward-d-d to to-to-to-tonight. You h-h-h-have to go-o-o."

"Then why did you call?"

"To let-t-t you kn-kn-know we c-c-can't-t-t come. D-d-d-don't t-t-ell Brittany. It-t-t wi-l-l ruin the w-wh-whole night. Let her-r-r find-d-d out-t-t when I c-c-all her later."

"Okay. But I'll be over after the date is through."

"'Kay. 'Bye. And t-th-tha-thanks."

"Anytime." Ephram said, dazed, as he blindly hung up the phone. He looked at his watch– it was 6:47– he was supposed to pick up Brittany at 7:00. He better be going.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

_Ding-Dong-Ba-Dong-Ding-Dong-Ba-Dong_

He heard footsteps after he rang the doorbell.

"Hey, Ephram." Brittany said, as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey" he said as he kissed her gently on the lips. He could hear screaming and crashing in the house but decided to not mention it. He also thought that with the rapidness of the door answer, she must have been waiting right by it to leave– not wanting him to see inside.

"I hope Italian is alright with you," Ephram said as they were driving down the road, "Oh, by the way, Sara and Dan, uh can't... can't make it."

"Why?"

"Uh... Terry is sick. Sara's mom needed her to look after Teresa.", he lied.

"Oh, poor thing. Let's stop by the toy store and pick her up a new Barbie to make her feel better."

"Sure. And you look absolutely amazing tonight... gorgeous... really, you do."

"Oh, thank you... you're looking very handsome too."

"Here we are," Ephram said as he pulled into a space in front of "Tutto l'Mio Amore", (All My Love).

"Thank you," she said as he opened the door for her.

"Uh, reservation, Ephram Brown.", he told the host as they entered the restaurant.

"Yes, right this way, sir." Ephram heard Brittany gasp as she walked by a table, "Jim." she said. The man was with a woman... not just any woman. Amy.


End file.
